I quickly realized that this project was more than writing a book; it was a faith journey, drawing me closer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose spirit I hope comes through these pages. Truly remarkable men and women opened their hearts and, in some cases, their homes to me, and for that I am forever grateful to Kim Copeland, Donna Coates and Diane Catoe, Sabine Durden, Rob and Kelly Winebrenner and family, and Noah Patton. Though you all have suffered so much loss, Jesus’ love shines through your tears and reinvigorated my faith walk.
To Stan Summers, Melissa Ackison, Brian Easton, T. J. Bray, Bill Barlow, and the First Liberty attorneys, I thank you for sharing your stories with readers. Your fight for the American Dream and our constitutional protections is to be commended.
David Larabell, my literary agent at CAA, believed in this project long before Election 2016, and I am so thankful for his efforts to find the perfect fit in the publisher Simon & Schuster, Threshold Editions. The guidance of my editor, Natasha Simons, and her assistant, Hannah Brown, was truly invaluable. Natasha believed in the New American Revolution early on, and her well-thought-out, spot-on edits undoubtedly made this book better. To Louise Burke, former publisher of Threshold Editions, and Mitchell Ivers, vice president and editorial director, your belief in this project means more to me than you will ever know.
Without a loving, supportive, and faith-filled family, this book would not have been possible. Your contribution to my career and to this book cannot be overstated. My husband as of November 2017, Sean Gilmartin, a self-described constitutional conservative and “Levinite,” provided me with so much inspiration, fielding my ideas and helping to hone them. His love and support through my travels across the United States were indispensable to this work. My dad, Mike McEnany, raised me as a freedom-loving Republican and continues to be my intellectual sounding board along with my mom, Leanne McEnany, who raised me with dedication, heart, and self-sacrificing love. Together, their emphasis on faith was instrumental in my development and that of my remarkable siblings, Michael and Ryann McEnany. And to my grandmothers, Glenda Knight and Jean McEnany, you are the matriarchs of my family, and I love you very much, along with my grandfathers, the late Bill Knight and Pat McEnany.
I want to thank Dana Carpenter for allowing me to mention and dedicate this book to your sweet, beautiful angel, Megan Carpenter. Megan’s valiant battle with cancer and faith in Jesus Christ every step of the way was awe-inspiring. I miss my sweet friend and still think of her every single time I see a feather.
And to my hero—Rachel Joy Scott. Just one day before I wrote these acknowledgments, Darrell Scott, Rachel’s father, gave me his blessing in dedicating my book to his daughter. It was an honor to speak to the man who raised this beautiful young woman, whose life on this earth ended far too soon. As most of you know, seventeen-year-old Rachel Joy Scott was the first victim of the tragic Columbine High School shooting. I will never forget taking in those horrific images as a young eleven-year-old girl. It was the day that I saw evil and realized that it was alive in this world. On April 20, 1999—the day that thirteen innocents were gunned down—evil was at work, but it could not extinguish the good.
In the aftermath of the shooting, as we learned about the victims, the circumstances of Rachel Joy Scott’s death came to light. The only surviving witness of Rachel’s last moments told NBC that Rachel was asked if she believed in God before she died. She said yes and died a Christian martyr because of it. Rachel’s funeral, aired on cable news, featured a white casket covered in the loving words and signatures of her peers. During the two-hour service, several of her friends spoke about her love for all, regardless of status or popularity. One young man said, “All my life, I prayed that someone would love me and make me feel wanted. God sent me an angel,” he tearfully recounted. You see, Rachel’s deeply held Christian faith gave her a deep-seated love for others, one that did not go unnoticed by her classmates.
I took a sincere interest in Rachel Joy Scott as a young girl and read several of her journals, oftentimes written directly to God, later published by her parents, Darrell Scott and Beth Nimmo. Those journal entries revealed a young woman with a remarkable connection to her savior and even a premonition of her own death. “This will be my last year, Lord. I have gotten what I can. Thank you,” Rachel wrote less than one year before she died. And on the day of her passing, she drew a picture of a pair of eyes crying thirteen tears onto a rose. Moments later, thirteen bright lights on this earth would be extinguished by darkness.
Rachel’s unwavering commitment to God and her profound bravery to die for her savior inspired me then and still to this day. Thank you, Rachel, for making the faith my parents had taught me real in my own life. It has always been my genuine hope that you would greet me one day at Heaven’s pearly gates.
Last, and certainly not least, to my Savior, Jesus Christ. You died so I may live. You poured out your blood to save a humanity so undeserving of you. It is hard to fathom the debt that you paid on my behalf.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”